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Archives for January 2024

Snapshots: Tippett, Wolf, Barkov

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Philadelphia Flyers forward Owen Tippett has suffered a lower-body injury and will be out on a day-to-day basis, the team announced today. The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz adds that Tippett was “walking around fine after the game and the hope is it’s just a mild ankle sprain.” There was some fear that Tippett might miss more time, but that appears to not be the case. The Flyers will nonetheless be without Tippett on a short-term basis, though.

Tippett, who will turn 25 in February, is in the midst of his second full season with the Flyers. It took the 2017 10th overall pick some time to get going at the NHL level, but he’s now up to 18 goals and 30 points in just 46 games on the season. After scoring a career-high 27 goals last year, Tippett is now on pace to score 32 goals, which would be a career-best. With Tippett out, the Flyers will lean on players such as Travis Konecny, Joel Farabee, and Cam Atkinson more heavily to provide goal-scoring.

Some other news from across the NHL:

  • The Calgary Flames have reassigned netminder Dustin Wolf to their AHL affiliate the Calgary Wranglers. With starting goalie Jacob Markström set to return after an absence of just over a week, Wolf’s reassignment to the Wranglers will allow him to get some game action, the kind that is unavailable to him when the Flames have a fully healthy crease.
  • Florida Panthers team reporter Jameson Olive reports that captain Aleksander Barkov will not travel with the team to Nashville as he recovers from a lower-body injury. Head coach Paul Maurice has said that he is hopeful Barkov will be able to play on Wednesday against the Arizona Coyotes. While the Panthers have a strong team regardless, they’re certainly an improved group when Barkov is healthy. The former Selke and Lady Byng Trophy winner has played exceptional two-way hockey this season and has scored 46 points in 40 games.

Florida Panthers Recall Mackie Samoskevich

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The Florida Panthers have once again recalled Mackie Samoskevich, according to Florida Hockey Now’s George Richards. Unlike some prior recalls, Samoskevich actually has a clear path to playing some NHL games in this recall, as the team’s incumbent fourth-line right winger William Lockwood is currently serving a three-game suspension.

The Panthers reassigned Rasmus Asplund back to the AHL yesterday, and have now brought up Samoskevich to take his place on the active roster. With Lockwood suspended, Samoskevich could play on the Panthers’ third or fourth line at the right wing positon.

Samoskevich, 21, is the 2021 24th overall pick who is currently playing his rookie season as a full-time pro player. Samoskevich spent the last two seasons at the University of Michigan, scoring 43 points in 39 games in his final run there.

So far this season Samoskevich has been a quality AHLer, scoring 11 goals and 26 points in 32 games. He’s still waiting on his first NHL point, and now with this recall he could very well earn it before likely heading back to AHL Charlotte.

Columbus Blue Jackets Activate Nick Blankenburg, Recall David Jiříček

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The Columbus Blue Jackets have announced that defenseman Nick Blankenburg has been activated off of injured reserve and assigned to the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters, and defenseman David Jiříček has been recalled from the Monsters.

The 25-year-old Blankenburg has been out since December 19th due to injury. The former captain of the Michigan Wolverines was actually playing in the NHL when he was last healthy, skating in his sixth consecutive game with the club. Before that point Blankenburg was in Cleveland, which is where he’ll now return to. Blankenburg has played in 18 games for the Monsters, the first 18 games of his AHL career, and has gotten off to a nice start there with 11 points.

Jiříček now returns to the Blue Jackets’ roster after a two-game stay in Cleveland. The 20-year-old 2022 sixth-overall pick receives this recall fresh off of a three-point game against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, a contest win which he played a role in all three of the Monsters’ goals. The six-foot-four blueliner has played in 36 NHL games already this season and registered nine points. He proved himself as an AHLer in his rookie campaign in North America, scoring 38 points in 55 games.

Injury Notes: Blackhawks, Red Wings, Engvall

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The Chicago Blackhawks saw a string of players progress in their injury recovery, with Nick Foligno (fractured finger) and Ryan Donato (illness) fully returning to the team’s practice on Sunday, while Connor Bedard (jaw), Samuel Savoie (leg), and Tyler Johnson (undisclosed) were all on the ice for varying times before the team skate started. Connor Murphy was not able to take part in the team’s skate, though, continuing to miss time with a lower-body injury.

Donato has missed the Hawks’ last two games with an illness, while Foligno has sat out of seven games thanks to a placement on injured reserve earlier in the month. Both players are trending towards a return, finally bringing some form of relief to a Chicago lineup that’s currently experiencing injuries to 10 different players. Foligno went down on the same night that star rookie Bedard was injured. Both players falling out of the lineup effectively fractured Chicago’s top six, with the team going 3-4-0 – including one overtime and one shootout win – and scoring just 13 goals since the pair got hurt. That averages out to 1.85 goals-per-game – a mark that’s significantly held up by the two four-goal outings Chicago has had since Bedard’s injury.

Other notes from around the league:

Calgary Flames Make Several Roster Moves

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With less than an hour to go before the Battle of Alberta, the Calgary Flames made a few transactions earlier today that will shape their roster for this evening’s matchup against the Edmonton Oilers. Today, the team announced that forward Martin Pospisil would be placed on injured reserve, and defenseman Dennis Gilbert would be activated off of injured reserve. Furthermore, in the same announcement, the team has recalled defenseman Oliver Kylington from his LTI conditioning loan in the AHL, meaning he could be activated off of LTIR very shortly.

Pospisil is dealing with an upper-body injury suffered in the team’s most recent game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, and it will likely keep him out until after the NHL All-Star break in a couple of weeks. Primarily serving as a bottom/middle six player for Calgary this season, Pospisil has scored four goals and 11 points in 33 games up to this point in the year.

Also suffering from an upper-body injury, Gilbert had been out for a couple of weeks, having not played since the team’s January 4th game against the Nashville Predators. Gilbert will draw back into the team’s bottom-pairing on defense, a role that has seen him score one goal and seven points in 28 games this season.

Most importantly, the Flames are nearing the long-awaited return of Kylington, who has not played in an NHL game since May 26th, 2022. Feeling ready to return to hockey, he received a two-game stint with Calgary’s AHL affiliate, the Calgary Wranglers, but was unable to score a point throughout his conditioning loan.

There is by no means that Kylington will come back into the lineup and become a new groundbreaking defenseman for the Flames, but with a plethora of defensemen set for unrestricted free agency this upcoming offseason, a strong start from Kylington may make the team more comfortable to sell off some of their defensive core by the time the trade deadline comes around.

Metro Notes: Jiricek, Islanders, Gustafsson

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A few days ago, to create a roster spot upon the return of captain Boone Jenner, the Columbus Blue Jackets decided to send promising young defenseman David Jiricek back to their AHL affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters. Even though it has been a relatively mediocre season for Jiricek up to this point, it was still surprising to see Jiricek as the head eventually put on the chopping block.

Nevertheless, in an article today from Aaron Portzline of The Athletic, he reports that the plan for Jiricek is to have him play two games this week for the Monsters until the team eventually recalls him in a week. The organization may be looking to give Jiricek an extra boost of confidence before the Blue Jackets’ upcoming five-game road trip before the All-Star game.

As one of the more hyped-up Columbus prospects heading into the season, many expectations placed upon Jiricek before the season were largely unfair, as he has not gotten off to a hot start with the team. In 36 games for the Blue Jackets already this season, Jiricek has scored one goal and nine points, managing just under 15 minutes of ice time per night, without receiving much time on either the powerplay or penalty kill.

Other Metro notes:

  • After a surprise announcement today naming Patrick Roy the new head coach of the New York Islanders, many began to wonder if the organization would eventually look to go in a different direction with any assistant coaches. The General Manager of the Islanders, Lou Lamoriello, was asked precisely this question and assured that no other changes would be coming to New York’s bench any time soon (X Link).
  • Earlier today, Arthur Staple of The Athletic reported that New York Rangers defenseman Erik Gustafsson is considered day-to-day with a lower-body injury, and would not be in the team’s lineup tonight. Playing on an extremely valuable one-year, $825K contract this year, Gustafsson has scored four goals and 21 points in 44 games, sitting second on the team in scoring amongst defensemen.

Hurricanes Notes: Kochetkov, Svechnikov, Perets

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While Hurricanes goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov is in concussion protocol, it doesn’t appear if he’ll be out for too long.  Team reporter Walt Ruff relays (Twitter link) that the 24-year-old took part in roughly half of Carolina’s morning skate today with head coach Rod Brind’Amour indicating after that the netminder “looks good and is feeling better”.  Kochetkov has a 2.58 GAA and a .900 SV% this season in 23 games, numbers that don’t look great on their own but are a considerable improvement on what they’ve received from veterans Frederik Andersen (before his blood clots) and Antti Raanta.  There remains no timetable for Kochetkov’s return but the fact he’s on the ice now suggests that

More from Carolina:

  • Also from Ruff’s note, winger Andrei Svechnikov didn’t participate in practice today as he isn’t feeling 100%. The 23-year-old potted the game-winning goal against Detroit on Friday and logged close to his season average for ice time so it’s unclear if he was banged up during that game or if he’s under the weather.  After missing the start of the season recovering from a knee injury and missing some time with an upper-body issue in December, Svechnikov has been quite productive, collecting 11 goals and 19 assists in 29 games.
  • The team announced that goaltender Yaniv Perets has been assigned to ECHL Norfolk. The move comes as little surprise after Carolina claimed netminder Spencer Martin off waivers from Columbus on Friday.  Perets made his NHL debut during this recall, seeing 13 minutes of action in Monday’s loss to Los Angeles.  Perets has a 2.62 GAA and a .906 SV% in 15 games in the ECHL this season; with Carolina not having an AHL affiliate, he has to drop a level in order to secure regular playing time.

Transaction Notes: Polin, Bryson, Asplund

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Earlier today, the Colorado Avalanche reassigned forward Jason Polin to their AHL affiliate, the Colorado Eagles, per a team announcement. Polin was originally recalled on January 8th via an emergency loan and factored into six games for the Avalanche, scoring only one goal.

It was a positive sign from Polin to see him score his first professional goal, as he has been unable to score even one with the Eagles over 20 games during this year and last. Colorado is likely holding out hope they he can recoup some of his offensive talent that showed in his last season in the NCAA, when he scored 30 goals and 47 points with Western Michigan University.

Although nothing official has come from the organization, the reassignment of Polin likely spells the much-awaited return of Artturi Lehkonen, who has been on the team’s long-term injured reserve since November 13th with a neck injury. However, with Valeri Nichushkin now enrolled in the NHLPA Player Assistance Program, and captain Gabriel Landeskog still working his way back from knee cartilage surgery, Colorado will have to wait a bit longer to see a complete top-six forward group.

Other notes:

  • The Buffalo Sabres announced today that the organization has loaned defenseman Jacob Bryson back to their AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans. After clearing waivers on December 20th, Bryson would not make his way back up to the Sabres until January 18th but was unable to suit up in a game. During his short span with the Americans, Bryson has tallied one assist in nine games.
  • Sticking in the Atlantic Division, the Florida Panthers have loaned forward Rasmus Asplund to their AHL affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers, per a team announcement. Asplund did not suit up for the Panthers over his emergency loan roster placement, but will return to a Checkers team where he has had some success this season, scoring four goals and 19 points in 33 games.

Sharks Officially Activate Logan Couture And Nico Sturm Off IR

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The Sharks will indeed welcome back not just one but two centers tonight when they take on Anaheim.  The team announced (Twitter link) that they have activated Logan Couture and Nico Sturm off injured reserve as expected.  To make room on the active roster, center Mikael Granlund and defenseman Ty Emberson have been transferred to IR, moves that were suggested as likely on Friday.

Couture has missed the entire season with what previously had been an undisclosed injury.  Today, he told reporters including Max Miller of The Hockey News that he had been dealing with osteitis pubis.  He twice tried to come back from this already but suffered setbacks each time, resulting in cortisone shots, extended rest, and a different training regimen as the team tried to figure out how to best treat the injury.

The 34-year-old is coming off of one of his best seasons offensively as he recorded 67 points while playing in all 82 games for only the second time of his career.  A 14-year veteran, some have wondered if Couture could be a trade candidate at some point with San Jose clearly in a full-scale rebuild.  He’ll need to demonstrate not only that he is fully healthy but that he is also still capable of producing at a top level as Couture has three years left on his contract after this one with a $8MM cap charge.  The Sharks, meanwhile, only have one salary retention slot remaining through the end of next season.

Nevertheless, his return will be a welcome one for a team whose offense has struggled mightily this season, recording just 89 goals in 45 games, putting the Sharks dead last in the league in that department.  Couture is expected to play alongside Alexander Barabanov and Fabian Zetterlund in his debut.

As for Sturm, the 28-year-old has been out for more than a month after re-aggravating a wrist injury.  He has played in 26 games so far and while he only has two goals and two assists, he’s among the NHL’s leaders in faceoff percentage, checking in at just over 62%.  With faceoffs and penalty killing being elements that teams often try to upgrade before the trade deadline, it’s possible that Sturm, who has one year left after this one at $2MM, could be someone that teams inquire about in the coming weeks.

Canucks Notes: Pettersson, Karlsson, Kuzmenko

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Recently, the agent for Canucks center Elias Pettersson indicated that he wasn’t sure if there would be any more contract discussions between now and the end of the season.  Pettersson himself has now shut the door on that idea, telling NHL.com’s Kevin Woodley that he wants to wait for those talks until after the season ends.  The 25-year-old cracked the 100-point mark last season for the first time and is on pace to eclipse that again this year, putting himself in a great bargaining position for his final trip through restricted free agency this summer.  Pettersson is owed a qualifying offer of $8.82MM at that time but it will take a few million more than that to get him to pen to paper on a contract when the time comes.

More from Vancouver:

  • The team announced last night (Twitter link) that forward Linus Karlsson was recalled from AHL Abbotsford. The 24-year-old has now been recalled four times this season but the first three didn’t result in much playing time as he suited up in just four contests with Vancouver.  Karlsson has spent most of the season in the minors and has been quite productive, recording nine goals and 16 assists in 27 games.  He could take the place of Andrei Kuzmenko in the lineup tonight against Toronto, Postmedia’s Patrick Johnston suggests.
  • Speaking of Kuzmenko, Sportsnet’s Iain McIntyre speculates that if the Canucks need to clear cap space to make any upgrades before the trade deadline, the winger is the likeliest candidate to move. Previously, Tyler Myers and his expiring $6MM AAV had been perceived as trade bait but he’s playing an important role on the back end while Kuzmenko has struggled mightily in his sophomore year.  However, being only a year removed from a 39-goal campaign will likely have teams interested in him as a buy-low candidate, even with a $5.5MM price tag through next season.

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